Filing equipment



June 6, 1950 H. c.-FosBERG FILING EQUIPMENT 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Nov, 25, 1948 :Suventor tif' v"bmw ushers Patented june 6, '1950 UNITED STATES FILING EQUIPMENT Appiication November 23, 1948, Serial No. 61,609 c (Cl. l-'94) 8 Claims.

This invention relates to filing equipment and more lparticularly to improvements in a file drawer wherein expansion means is provided to facilitate filing operations.

More specifically, the invention relates to improvements in the structure of a file drawer over those shown and described in my pendingapplication Serial No. 19,729, filed April 8, 1948. In this application there is disclosed a file drawer having the usual side, base, and rear walls, in conjunction with a drawer head or front that can be extended to occupy a position such that the space within the drawer will be enlarged in the direction of the drawers length. In the above referred to application, it was brought out that the purpose of all filing equipment, beyond that of the accessible storage of records, is to enable such iiling unit or drawer to be filled substantially to capacity. Further, when such file drawers are so filled, considerable difficulty has been encountered by the usual users of such equipment in the careful handling of records.

The present invention has for a Ypurpose and object the pro-vision of structure which will enable a user to easily expand the contents of a file drawer tor facilitate convenient and quick insertion and removal of records in accordance with the above mentioned disclosure and, at the same time, provide additional structureby means of which manipulation of the drawer head, to enable expanding the file contents, may be improved upon and the structure, in general, safeguarded against improper use.'

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be more fully understood from a consideration of the following specification, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings; and in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a le cabinet in which a drawer, embodying one form of the invention, is shownin partly opened position;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged front elevational view of the cabinet and drawer shown in Fig. 1, parts of the drawer front being broken away to disclose certain of the structural details;

Fig. Bis a fragmentary side elevational view of the le cabinet,- parts being broken away to show the drawer' and drawer head in closed position;

Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 3 and shows the drawerf partially extended from the le cabinet;

Fig. 5 is a further fragmentary side elevational view of the fileV cabinet, showing the drawer partly withdrawn and the drawer head extended;

Fig. 6 is an enlarged'fragmentary perspective 2 View of the rear of the drawer head, parts being broken away to disclose certain of the details of the drawer head and drawer locking structure;

Fig. 7 is an enlarged fragmentary perspective view showing the latching means employed to secure the drawer head in abutment with the front edges of the drawer; and

Fig. 8 is an enlarged fragmentary perspective view, showing details of the structure by which the drawer is latched against withdrawal from the cabinet. Referring more particularly to the drawing, the reference numeral l 0 is employed to generally designate a cabinet adapted to receive a drawer embodying one form of the invention. The structure .ofV the cabinet forms no part of the present invention and it is, therefore, immaterial that it is shown as capable of accommodating only a single drawer instead of the usual four drawers. It will also be understood that any drawer slide f or other suspension means, by which the drawer is rendered freely movable with respect' to the cabinet, constitutes no part of the invention and` is therefore neither shown nor described.

Mounted in the cabinet l is a drawer that includes side walls l I and l 2, connected bya base wall. I3. A conventional rear wall (not shown) may be joined in any suitable mannerl to the rear ends of the side and base walls. Each side wall, along its upper edge, may be formed with a conventional channel i4 in which to receive the usual arms of a drawer follower.- At the for- Ward end of each side of the drawer, and directly beneath the channel M, a horizontally disposed strap it is provided which includes a topy flange il that is laterally offset toI engage and be permanently secured to the outer vertical wall of the channel lli. The lower edge of this strap is inwardly offset and terminates in a flange i8 that is permanently joined to the drawer side wall. The strap IS, in lco-operation with the drawer side wall, provides a passageway i9 that, at its forward end, terminates ush with the ends of the side wall. A slot 2l is made through the lower portion of strap I6 to give access to the passageway I9. Mounted on this flange, by means .of a pivot pin 22, is a dog 23. This dog includes a weighted end 24 and latching arm 26. Rotation of the dog 23 about its pivot swings arm 26 intoor out of the passageway i9 through slot 2l. The base wall i3 of the drawer, as may be seen in Fig. 2, is formed with substantially full length marginal reinforcing channels 2l and a central channel 28. The forward end of the base wall, between channels 2l and 28, is formed with a turned down stifening il'ahe :253. More or less midway between channels 2 and 2E, are slots 3|. The side Walls, at their forward edges, are each provided with a short, offset ange 32. These flanges serve to act as positive stops for abutment of the drawer head hereinafter de scribed. Directly above :each flange 32 is4 a bracket 33, having an outwardly extending flange 34 that is set slightly rearwardly of the plane of the ange 32.

Flange 34 mounts a resilient bumper 3S, the head of which projects somewhat beyond the vertical plane of flange 32.

The drawer is closed at its' forward end 'byea c:

drawer head, generally indicated by tlie'jnumeralv is 5 securedin any suitable irianner alongits ibase/I Y' portion 49. SideV bars 5I of this memberproject poi o offtheie andenablesf'movenient of this 'headjj from ithej position u i Vin slots 2li-into" he passa-gew vof abutment with the drawer" "extendedYY position '(lg.5) fnot' project'y through i9 when the' drawer' hegt. isjin i"etiactec'l'jjgios"ition'.` However, when the drawer head is extended',lthe'jnotches 'register l with s101152]:and'aiiowarmsz's tos-wing unwardly hthe full..depth'ofs`aid positionfwithinfthe cabinet; peri'riit .withdrawal ,of thedrawenasa unit,; ,orienable extension of the stantiallyas shown The other end 'of bar .'Ellfas initiie' drawer head is a. generally' hoii'z'z'nntal'Scarl- 5il;` having one end '55 d "in the rear face;

and includes a rfurth'er Vpo ion Eswhich, .through a pin Sli-,is joined to aswlnplate El; The end of f rawer head panel' Bf'j Aisogpivtauyiiemed"to the. plate 't a i f and'extends throught ange of reinforcing". platey S2 and, although not shown "in the" drawing',- 4i.er'nfii'nate's .fin "ani end A that registers with a urt'her'slot-E'g'l n anotherreariace of thedrawer headiront'. panelg in other words, the' bait intende `function' in the same.

manner as Vhar '54 but onthe opposite side of .the

drawer head and in areve'rsedirection. A suitthat ""ll. Mounted intheforward end of each channel madrina# showninEi Vthetiltboard lllfisin averti'cal position; it ma beassumeathat"the'drawer f is iilleclito capalc handle 11 @and able reinforcing strip to extends across th dra-wer head and is notched to receive a vertically movable bar 69. '-he upper end of Ithis `bar is pivotally joined, as "at il, to Ithe swing plate 6|-, Attached to the lower end of the sa-r 69 is a con tactplate 'i2 whit/h rests upon acarn i3. This canifis'carried h? squared portionv 'of a .sh'at id which projects through Tth'e front panel of i the drawer head fand mounts a control member This v'control member is of the nature of a thiimhilatch and is, therefore, located in con- ,proximityto a drawer handle il.

asfalready'jfpeen noted, each side Wall of er is foindwith a conventional channel isla platei, having-'a short, horizontal ange 19. Pivotallycarried by this plate is a latch 8B which includes a hook portion ySi and a rear shoulder stop;l spring34v,rcarried by the pivot pin of the: latchg, isf engelse@- With 'said latch and said afirgeina inannertojurge the latch to 'yieldingly be held in'tlie postonjsh'ownjmin Fig. 7 of4 the drawing. The hoolgportlons i whenlthe drawer; head is broughtfinto' Aloutrnent'withthewdrawer1 sides: are''ieieuddtd proie@ int@ the, S1011 5'! and-ripienooi/erfand' enga'g'eth'e Vends of bars, ffand'ar Referii i in' l 4 n'gfjoftheadvantages.'V I yentiontis suggested that'the' operation" of moving-the drawer-"fromme position ofrigia i* to that ofwfigs. 1 or 5 ,he discussed. It willbe th thejdrawerfheadin the position y Y I Y l in operator, ac ss tothe rawe )con ntsfg'raspsthef "j against the Yleft 4ontrolY merhh'er l direction vtoto sai face .of control einher Y froml the .strike ,90. Ihev drawer may now be in 'theircoinpactstate.- To`r'el`eas' the pressure.

asiasofz,

of th drawer contents,-the operatornow places his'thumbon thelower. portion '96 of the control member-'mand causes said vmember to be turned about its shaft i4. Due tothe fact that this shaft is squared where it carries cam 13, saidcam will be turned and will cause contact plate 12 and barQ to' move upwardly. This movement of bar $9 rotates silving'plate 6| in a direction to cause barsj54 and 69' to be` retracted to an extent that the ends thereof are withdrawn from engagement with the hook portions 8| of latches 8U. The operator may now exert a further pull 'von the handle ll and the drawerhead lwill become disengaged from the drawer proper, being supported and guided by the side bars The drawer head may be extended only to the point where the arms 26A Ofdogs 23 contact shoulders 53. In this position of the head with respect to the body of the drawer, the board 42 has been tilted forwardly, thus allowing the contents of the drawer `to expand.

It is desirable that the drawer should be withdrawn from the cabinet prior to the operation of extending the drawer head and, in order to assure this sequence of operation, the portion 58 of bar 54 has been provided. If an operator attempts to rextend the drawerY head before withdrawing thedrawer from the' cabinet by releasing latches 80, he will of course attempt to swing or turn the control member 16. It will be found that this member, in this position of the drawer, cannot be turned due to the fact that the end of portion 58, upon initial movement of bar 54, comes into contact or abutment with channel 9|. This, of course, prevents suicient movement of bars 54 and 67 to effect their release from engagement with the hook portions 8| of latches 80. However, if the operator has iirst manipulated the control member 16 in a manner to release the drawer for withdrawal to a position such as shown in Fig. 4 of the drawing, he may then rotate the control member as previously set out, and the end of portion 58, now being unobstructed, may project beyond the edge of the inner panel of the head.

Attention is directed to the fact that the structure described provides simple means for controlling and requiring the proper sequence of operation of a mechanism for effecting the compacting or the expanding or" a iile drawer contents. It is clear that the control member 16 is readily accessible to effect disengagement of the latch which holds the drawer in the cabinet and, further, that this control member may be rotated in either direction to withdraw bars 54 and 6l from engagement with the latches 80. When the control member is released, spring 94 returns all of the parts to their normal inoperative position and, thus, the ends of bars 54 and 61 again register with slots 51. When the drawer is to be closed after being extended to the position shown in Fig. 5, it is merely necessary to push on the handle and the drawer head will first move into engagement with the drawer body, the hook portions 8| riding up over and into engage ment with bars 54 and 61. Of course, the boardi 42 will again move into a vertical position and `compact the drawer contents, and further pressure on the drawer handle will move the drawer into closed position ywhere the iiange 8l again engages the strike 90 and secures the drawer' against inadvertent withdrawal. l

Although applicant has shown and described only one form of his invention, it will be apparent are contemplated insofar as they are within the spirit and scopeof the invention as set out inthe annexed claims.

Having thus set forth my invention, what I claim as new and for which I Ydesire `protection by Letters Patent is:

1. In a filing cabinet, a slidable'aopen'frontV other means operatively associatedwith said` latch means' and said further latch means in a manner to elect successive release 'actuation operation thereof. A 2. lInv a' filing `Acabinet, a slidable open front drawer, a head for closing the front of said drawer, means mounting Vsaid head for slidable movement in the direction of thedrawerflength, latch means securing saidA head in abutment with the front of said drawer, further latch means securing said drawer in said cabinet, a control member on said head, and means operatively conf necting said control member with Ysaid latch means and said further latch means, said control member being operable to move both'of said latchv means into released position.

3. In a iiling cabinet, a slidable open front drawer, a head for closing the front of said drawer, means mounting said head for slidable movement in the direction of the drawer length, stop means for determining the limit of extension of said head with respect to said drawer, latch means securing said head in abutment with the front of said drawer, further latch means securing said drawer in said cabinet, and a control member so associated with said latch means and said further latch means as to render the latter inoperative to release said head prior to release operation of the former.

4. In a filing cabinet, a slidable open front drawer, a head for closing the front of said drawer, means mounting said head for slidable movement in the direction of the drawer length, latch means securing said head in abutment with the front of said drawer, further latch means securing said drawer in said cabinet, a control member mounted on the outer face of said drawer head, and other means operatively connecting said member with said latch means and said further latch means, said other means being operable by said member to sequentially release said further latch means and said latch means.

5. In a nling cabinet, a slidable open front drawer, a head for closing the front of said drawer, a front record compacting board operatively associated with said drawer and said front, stop means for limiting relative movement of said head and said drawer and to determine one operative position of said compacting board, latch means securing said head in abutment with said drawer, further latch means securing said drawer in said cabinet, and a control member associated with and operable to release both of said latch means.

6. In a filing cabinet,A a slidable open front drawer, a slidable head for said drawer mounted to move in the direction of the drawer length, a record compacting board pivotally mounted on the base wall of said drawer and connected at its upper end with said head and being operable to become tilted when said front is extended with that variations of the structure may be made and, '15 respect to said drawer, stop means for determinatto-@Qt ing said head in abutment with saidlrawer van said.. .board- ViriY l.uprisi1t position.; further ,lotoli moonsV Securing-said. drawer ingsaid Cabinet,.- ansi.;

toL-Iieleaso botho said. iatohimoaiis.-

r1:-Ir1k a .oline cabiriotiga s1i.d.ab ;opoii :fiorita drawer; o slifiablo. iioadioi: oioirawo moimtotif to A.Irioio in .tho` direction; of a reoorcioompaotingboord p trio.:` base-wou of saidY f. draw@ itsliipoor vond with( Said neati tozbooomotiltod when; saidfi respect tosaiddraworistom ing the .extoriciodiwposition ofsaid'hoaofanith tilted position of said board, latcheggnoupte 'pw anriffoxtondingitoyond.thegforwordfodgo o sidesf said drawer, adjustable moans .in-asa in abutment with saiodr'awor.foriazsoirirboo on.: upright, positioriy, iatchimoaris;ssotiiitrissaiii drawer.:in` said oabinot, :andra Qontrol, memb i connected ,withv said latch 4meansand sai instable y.rriofiris iii o manner, tofonolblooiioo release of .Said vlotch:inooiio4 ondsoid lotthoS-i..

8. viIn o oline cabinet, a .1idot1ofopon`1.front-si droiiforfoJ slidablo ho-amor saidfirowoi:ir.ioiiiiiosi,q,- to move in the directionoi.f t oidraworiloiistiif;

a record compantingboardpivotaliy mounted on.; theiblasvelwall of 'said drawertrandoonnectedvatts l urineriendiwithi'saidheadand-:being .oporabloto become :.Ltiltediwhenisadfront is, extended; with s `1 ;rosiooot'.,to Saidxdl'owerystop. .moansA for, determininggtheV extolldedpositon. oisadhead and the tilted .position 'saimboorsisotoh `moans oarriodbytho esofsaidoroworiongogod withfsaid froiitaricidisposing, saidboard in an upright DOSi- Y 4itior'iia iatoh,'oarriodfbyv-soidihoadiengaged With- 5 oroiblo to,.,roqii1ro' tho;V Siiooosivo,iroloosiririrororo-f "tio'rrpf soidzlotoii-vautisti@ iotohfmoons Whore.

Witiiiifrawiriafooirifdreworrom'Said ,cabinet Y entitie-Vv (FosBERG.

ooriirtoirooo ,oliiiilis The following references araiofjecoidiin the 

